//nzff.net: Nick Lazareff

I got my start in computing by chasing after Carmen Sandiego.

Armed with an almanac, I hunted that vile criminal from Buenos Aires to Istanbul.

What followed were king's quests, ghost pirates, and Kyrandian court jesters.

These adventures, however, were gated by an unforgiving command line.

Whether I wanted to chase Carmen or fight LeChuck, the gate always demanded the right command.

But this gate was also a door.

A door to the idea that through text you could tell the computer what to do.

And that this art was called "programming."

The computer could conjure life, provided you knew how to tell it what to do.

I was hooked.

So I learned how to program, and over time how to program useful things.

Here are some of the things I've built:

As a founder,

As Director of Engineering at PlutoTV,

As VP of Engineering at OTOY,

As PM at Microsoft,